Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to a bicycle trainer for removably loading with a bicycle that is at least provided with a back wheel, which trainer comprises a floor-standing frame with a wheel supporting roller at its rear end and a fork supporting unit at its forward end, wherein the fork supporting unit is pivotally supported by the frame enabling it to move back-and-forth.
Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.97 and 1.98
Bicycle trainers are known and are each year developed further to provide it with features to make the exercise experience as true as possible to resemble real-life outdoor cycling.
WO2007/083341 discloses a bicycle trainer in accordance with the preamble, which aims at reproducing the classical pendular movement from side to side of the bicycle, when the biker is cycling uphill and is therefore forced to stand on the panels for more energetic pedal thrust. This document also aims at putting the bicycle mounted on the trainer in an upward tilted position, similar to the position of the bicycle when riding a road uphill.
WO2007/033254 teaches to provide a frame of a bicycle trainer with wheels that are guided along rails in a box to permit relative motion of the bicycle trainer and the bicycle mounted thereon in a longitudinal direction of the trainer, so as to provide an additional degree of motion to more closely duplicate the natural feel of outdoor cycling. The frame of the bicycle trainer is spring-loaded to cause returning of the bicycle trainer to a central point in the box from where the backward and forward movements are executed.
EP-A-2 319 592 is applicant's earlier proposal to provide a bicycle trainer with the possibility of back-and-forth movement, wherein the supporting roll or rollers for the bicycle back wheel are movably suspended in the frame in vertical direction, and wherein the suspension of said roll or rollers are arranged to convert relative horizontal movements of the roll or rollers into vertical movements thereby compensating and/or attenuating the horizontal movements by gravity.
A recent development is disclosed in EP-A-2 818 214, which accords to the preamble and which applies a support shaft to support a fork end part of a bicycle, wherein the support shaft is loosely fitted in a hole of the frame. Along the length of the support shaft, or at least near to the end which connects to the fork end part of the bicycle, the support shaft is surrounded by an elastic material which can elastically deform when a force is applied to it by the support shaft due to a backward movement or forward movement of the bicycle on the bicycle trainer.